Wobbling basket type clotheswashing machine



J. B. KIRBY arch 23, 1954 WOBBLING BASKET TYPE CLOTHES-WASHING MACHINE 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed June 28, 1947 JNVENTOR'. JA M ES f5 Kl R BY Patented Mar. 23, 1954 eMail-N21' fofFFicis VApplicationJuznel,` 1947,'LSeriaLNoiL757$773 .This invention .relates .'to "washing machines anii'more' pa'rtielarly to abaske't .for ac combned was'hinganciV extracting. machine.

.""Ihe' principal rrbj ect 4:of "this invention "is .fzto overcome. tendencies" to 'twist and Vtaiglel clothes beingi'wasliein a machine fin which the basket containing theclothes is given eitherawofbbling oifannorbital motion for" Washing.

ffsfAnotherobject listo proucea rolbover action of'` the'iclothes -"du1ing":was"liing by imparting' Wobblingmor'orbital" motion to fthe basket contatiningithel cibthesand '.'Watei'x so .as to cause the Clothes fto"`m'ovecircuinierentially "around y"the basketrand' engaging the' .clothes and Water by ribs carried eitherbn'the bottom of' the basket orf on" the *sidesfor both,1the ribs "being so shaped and arranged was" to "overcome vthe tendency of the clothes to twist and tangleland, fin addition, toforce clothes an'dWater radially outward along.r the fb'asket and -'upwardly" along, the sides, 'thus prdducingarollf'over motion' in theb'ody of water and-clothes *being Washedi Tlfi's` application fis, inpart, a"continuation1i`of `my 4colpeiiiing applications'seria1 Noi 526154,-,nIewMainl'ls, 1944,

filed `October"2J-1945.

wlwIn "'"the "accompanying "drawings "whi'ch illustratethepr'eferreri "embodiment o'futhe. invention Figure 'is a vertical sectional viewthrough a combined washingand'extractingjmachine pro: vided *with fa"basket"arrangeii1in accordance with this invention -""Figure 2 is a" top-plan "view ofthe machine shownA in 1Figure l'==with"part"s u"broken"away: to show-"thefbasketfand--jthe'ribs 'fd-Figure 3 isla front-elevation shown-inFigureslfand-Q; and

of one dfthe 'Tribs trated includes a housing I0, gene'allyrectangular inffshapa hav-ing 'an opening I I` in fthe ltop, closecifbyflid.I2.y A tub I3,.securedtolthe"housingini any-desired manner, isA l supporteii' in part arelisupported at fthe lowei" edgefof the lho'us''ng Iillion 'a :base Vindicated "generally at- I 5. "lheffbase includes -fa "central plate"V I'G'lto which f are: bolted alfpluialityfof legs' I1; the 'outer ends offthe legs carrying typefto'fengage/or be'connected-to an-ylsuppo'rting surface; such-as thev 'adjustable `stuclsfat-I 8. The base? I5. supports, in 4'any' convenient manner,` a dri-yingwmotor "I9, a'pump -20 and'v a'cent'ral pedestal r2 If v'vhich extends *upwardly through" a centtal :circular `wall-'l2 2of fth`^e ftu'b *I 3.

feet or connecting means'lof 'anyfdesi-red i 35 3'lIzso #that the centralv shaft 128 'is held against tion of rotation of the hollow shaft 24. The Various forces imparted to the clothes and water including the friction of the contents against the side and bottom of the basket, tend, however, to tangle and twist the clothes so as to prevent proper washing action in the absence of any means to counteract such tangling and twisting.

In accordance with the present invention, the basket 21 is provided internally with ribs or protuberances which engage the clothes and water as the same move circumferentially with respect to the basket and impart forces to the clothes and water counteracting the tendency to twist and tangle the clothes. Preferably, the ribs are arranged not only to overcome the twisting and tangling tendencies, but also to impart forces to the clothes and water producing a roll-over motion during the washing action. In the illustrat-y ed embodiment, a plurality of ribs 40 are secured to the inner side wall of the basket 21 and are arranged at an inclination with their upper ends advanced circumferentially with respect to their lower ends in the direction of rotation of the hollow shaft 24. As shown, the hollow shaft 24 is arranged to be rotated in a countercloekwise direction when viewed from above, and the ribs are positioned so that their sides form inclined surfaces extending upwardly in a counterclockwise direction. The particular angle of inclination of the ribs is selected to suit the speed of relative motion of the clothes and water with respect to the basket 21 which is induced by the washing motion, which in turn depends'upon the rate of rotation of the hollow shaft 2li, the inclination of the inclined bearing 25, and to some extent the diameter of the basket '21. In the preferred embodiment, with a speed of rotation of the shaft 24 of about 600 R. P. M., an inclination of bearing 25 to the horizontal of about 4, and a diameter of the basket 21 of about 22 inches, it has been 'found that the best results are secured with the ribs 4Q inclined at an angle of about 38 to the axis d of the basket.

Ribs 4I are also shown arranged on the bottom of the basket to assist the ribs 4t in producing a roll-over motion of the contents of the basket. The ribs 4l are inclined with respect to the radii of the basket 21 so that their outer ends are advanced circumferentially with respect to their inner ends in the direction of rotation of the shaft 24. As illustrated, the ribs ll! are inclined at the angle of about 38 to the radii with the approximate dimension and speed mentioned above. It is to be understood that either ribs on the side wall of the basket such as the ribs liti, or ribs on the bottom such as the ribs 4 i or both, may be used in any particular installation.

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the ribs it may be constructed conveniently as hollow castings V-shaped in cross-section and provided with threaded openings 42 for the reception of studs or the like extending through the wall of the basket. It is to be understood, however, that the inner projecting surfaces provided by the ribs 4i) and 4I may be constructed in any desired manner.

During the washing action in the type of machine illustrated, the clothes and water are caused to travel circumferentially about the basket 21 in the direction of the rotation of the hollow shaft 24, although at a much lower rate of speed. Sufficient water or other washing liquid is maintained in the basket to provide the proper action of the clothes. In the disclosed embodiment thisis about one gallon of water for each pound of clothes. As the mass of clothes and water move circumferentially over the bottom ribs 4l, the inclination of these ribs imparts a force to the clothes and water tending to move the lower portion of the mass radially outward. Similarly, as the mass of clothes and water move against the side ribs 49, the inclination of these ribs imparts forces to the clothes and water tending to cause the outer portion of the mass to move upwardly. The movement of the contents of the basket 21 outwardly along the bottom and upwardly along the sides causes the entire annular mass contained in the basket to continue to move radially inwardly at the top and downwardly about the central portion of the basket. This roll-over motion, which is combined with the circumferential movement of the contents of the basket, keeps the clothes being washed separated from each other and tends to prevent twisting and tangling.

The action of the ribs i0 and 4l also combines with the movement of the basket 21 during washing to improve the washing action. In the machine illustrated in which the axes a and b intersect at a point within the height of the basket 21, preferably near the geometric center of the basket, each portion of the side wall of the basket describes an elliptic path during wobbling motion of the basket. Similarly, each point in the bottom of the basket has a substantial component of vertical reciprocation during the wobbling movement. Thus the ribs 40 tend to lift the outer portion of the mass of clothes and water and the ribs Lil tend to throw the lower `portion of the mass radially outward, both of these forces being applied in a direction to assist the roll-over motion.

The action of the ribs 40 and 4I also tends to reduce the velocity of circumferential movement of the mass of clothes and water about the tub, since the ribs apply forces to the mass which, in the absence of other forces, tend to rotate the same circumferentially about the basket 21 in the opposite direction to the rotation of the shaft 24. Preferably, the ribs are constructed and arranged as described herein so that the mass of clothes and water rotate circumferentially in the direction of rotation of the shaft 24 with a rollover movement as described above.

In the machine illustrated, the construction and operation of which are more fully disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 619,849, filed October 2, 1945, the basket 21 is provided with holes i3 in its bottom portion through which the washing uid escapes to the tub I3 during the washing action. The proper quantity of washing fluid is maintained in the basket 21 by pumping the same from the tub I3 into the basket 21 through a conduit such as the pipe 44 during the washing action.

The basket 21, in the machine illustrated, is also provided with openings f3.5 arranged above the lower outwardly inclined side walls of the basket. The openings 112 and i4 permit the escape of the water from the basket 21 during the centrifugal extracting operation which the disclosed machine is adapted to carry out at the conclusion of the washing cycle. As disclosed in my aforesaid co-oending applications, the basket 21 is rotated for extracting water from the clothes by continuing to drive the hollow shaft 24 and reeasing the brake band 38, so that the central shaft 23 is free to turn with the shaft 24. The inertia of the basket 21 and its contents, which resists the wobbling motion imparted to other Washing iiuid from the clothes contained in the basket.

It is to be understood that the present invention in its broader without departing from the scope of the invention as dened in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Washing machine a support, a container for articles including a side Wall which is a surface of revolution and a bottom Wall,

mounting means for mounting said container on 7 said support for wobbling about a center vertically spaced from the lowermost portion of said bottom wall a distance less than the maximum radius of said side wall, driving mechanism for erations exceeding the acceleration due to gravand rib means on the interior of said con- 4. In a washing machine a support, a container for articles including a side wall which is a surface of revolution and a bottom Wall, mounting impart a first force on such articles tending to progress the saine circumferentially around the container in one direction.

JAMES B. KIRBY.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 924,979 Gminder June 15, v1909 1,330,801 Greenberg Feb. 1'7, v1920 1,553,282 Yagle Sept. 8, 1925 1,602,138 Wappat Oct. 5, 1926 1,648,530 Altorfer Nov. 3, 1927 1,737,480 Troy Nov. 26, 1929 1,766,213 Bock June 24 1930 1,777,662 Engeberg Oct. 7,. 1930 2,033,146 Motyoka Mar. 10, 1936 50 2,109,620 Kirby Mar. 1, 1938 2,137,540 Motycka Nov. 22, 1938 2,241,646 Rathjens May 13, 1941 2,276,147 Birr Mar. 10, 1942 2,331,700 Kirby Oct. 12, 1943 2,341,729 Jonson Feb. '15, 1944 2,350,218 De Reiner May 30, 1944 2,407,660 Graham Sept. 17, 1946 2,533,722 De Reiner Dec. 12, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS o Number Country Date 556,791 Germany Aug. 13, 1932 

